Irrigating iris retractor for complicated cataract surgery
Received 9 September 2008; accepted 17 October 2008.
We describe an irrigating iris retractor for cataract surgery in eyes with small pupils. The retractor, a modified irrigating handpiece, has 2 standard side-port irrigating openings and a smooth, button-like iris hook in the front. The hook is inserted into the margin of a small pupil and retracts the pupil peripherally to allow visualization of cortical remnants in the equatorial area of the lens capsule. The capsule can then be safely cleaned using the aspirating handpiece in the surgeon's other hand.
From the Department of Ophthalmology (Zahorcova), Hospital Ružinov, and a private practice (Böhm), Bratislava, and a private practice (Horvath), Trnava, Slovakia
Corresponding author: Peter Böhm, MD, Mladeznicka 12, 841 10 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Peter Böhm, MD, owns the copyright to the instrument's design. Neither of the other authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
ABSTRACT